Emerson Hyndman can raise his USMNT stock with Rangers move
Bournemouth midfielder and American prospect Emerson Hyndman has signed for Scottish giants Rangers on loan as he looks to get much-needed playing time at a crucial point in his development. Hyndman will stay at Rangers through the end of the season, rejoining Bournemouth in the summer ahead of the 2017/18 campaign.
Hyndman's made a handful of appearances for Bournemouth, but his minutes have largely been limited to the EFL Cup, especially after suffering an injury in preseason that set his development back. “I had an unfortunate injury in pre-season which didn’t help my chances of impressing immediately,” said Hyndman. “But the manager told me that I might need a bit of time, which is OK. He doesn’t want any transition process when I do go into the side."
Now, he'll head out on loan, where he can play regularly and try to work himself into Bruce Arena's plans on the U.S. squad.
In need of regular minutes, Hyndman will join up with Rangers on the heels of fellow USMNT prospect Gedion Zelalem's largely positive experience in Scotland. The 20-year-old midfielder follows in Zelalem's footsteps, with the Arsenal-owned youngster getting 28 matches in Ranger's midfield last year before rejoining the Gunners for the 2016/17 season.
Hyndman will likely have picked Zelalem's brain about the move, and the 19-year-old's had nothing but positives to say about his time at Rangers.
"It helped me a lot, playing in front of 50,000 [fans] every week," Zelalem said over the summer. "Just being a first-team player, the big media press around Scotland was massive as well. I learned a lot on the pitch, to play quicker. It helped physically as well. I'm happy with it."
Hyndman will hope to have the same positive experience in Scotland, and he'll bank on the fact that regular minutes with Rangers will make Arena really take notice. “I don’t know Bruce personally, although I hope to get to know him pretty soon!” Hyndman said in an interview earlier this week.
If Hyndman can perform at Rangers, there's a good chance he'll get to know the new USMNT coach pretty well.
